


Eat Your Heart Out

by Avery9902



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Oblivious Stiles, Pining Derek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-06-09 21:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6923527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avery9902/pseuds/Avery9902
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new monster is terrorizing Beacon Hills, leaving a trail of bodies that the sheriff department has to explain to the locals as animal attacks. Stiles knows better and he and the rest of the pack come up with a plan to find and destroy the monster. But what happens when Stiles suddenly disappears?  Will they succeed in killing the creature without casualties?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey Stiles, wait up!" I heard a shout from behind me, whom I could already identify as my best friend before I turned around. He caught up to me in no time, but that was not a surprise.

"Hey Scott, what's up?"

"Derek wants you to come to the pack meeting tonight." He said way too casually. Why the hell would Derek want me to come to a pack meeting? I'm not a part of his pack.

"Um, in case Derek hasn't noticed, I'm still the same scrawny Stiles I was when he last saw me two weeks ago. I'm not part of his badass werewolf pack."

"Dude, I don't know why he wants you to come, but he does. I wouldn't miss it if I were you. He will be pissed if you don't come. " he retorted, silently saying Derek would rip my throat out if I did'nt make it to this pack meeting.

"Ok, whatever dude. See you there. "

We split up and walked in different directions.  As I approached my jeep, I patted the hood affectionately and hopped into the drivers side. When I went to find my keys in my bag, I still found my self questioning why I would need to go to this meeting.

_Why all of the sudden does Derek want me to go? Obviously I'm not contributing anything in the strength department. Researching is more of my strong suit but they have Dr. Deaton for that, they don't need me searching google for hours when Deaton already has experience. Derek is really hard to understand sometimes. Whatever, I just need to get this over with so I can go home._

I found my keys and put them in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Among the engine noise I also heard a distinct rattling sound, and I made a mental note to have that checked out at some point.

_Derek's loft is only about 10 minutes away, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. If I'm being completely honest, I'm kind of dreading seeing him again. There's been this weird awkward tension with us for a while now, and I have no idea what the reason for it is. After I couldn't be around the pack without feeling excruciatingly uncomfortable, I just stopped hanging out with them while they were at Derek's. I still talk to most of them at school (excluding Jackson because the guy is a dick). I just don't understand why Derek started acting weird around me. Maybe it's something I did, but who knows with Derek, he's always awkward and grumpy anyways._

I made it to the loft in about fifteen minutes because I'm good at stalling. Of course the stalling would cause me to get some annoyed looks from having delayed everyone else, but I don't give a shit. I took my time going up the steps, and I tried to discreetly open the door, which didn't turn out too well. When you're dealing with a pack full of werewolves nothing is really discreet. Seven pairs of eyes turned to me and a particular gaze immediately made my stomach flip. Derek left his gaze on me longer than he probably should have because everyone else returned to their original conversations while his eyes stayed locked on mine for a few seconds longer.

Eventually, he looked away and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. _This guy puts me on edge_. I made my way over to the sofa closest to the corner, where I could be ignored. Derek cleared his throat making everyone turn their attention towards him.

"So I'm sure you guys heard that a body was found earlier today...." He said expectantly and everyone aside from me nodded. I wasn't really listening when dad talked to me this morning, and this explained why he won't be home.

"The official cause of death is animal attack, but I'm pretty sure we are going to have to deal with another problem pretty soon. So be ready, and report anything you find back to me. " he directed toward all of us and I could already hear Jackson get ready to make an irrelevant comment.

"Why the hell is Stilinski here? Does the idiot think can help or something" He gave me a condescending look and I rolled my eyes. Erica sighed as if to indicate she was expecting this all along.

"Shut up Jackson" Scott glared at him.

Jackson tried to open his smart ass mouth again but Derek interrupted him, "Cool it, I asked him to be here so if you have a problem take it up with me."

I spoke up, only because I hadn't spoken since I got there and I had to keep up my reputation of being a sarcastic ass.

"Even though Jackson is an unintelligent asshole, he's got a point. I'm not a werewolf, why am I at the 'pack meeting'. "

Derek rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed that I opened my mouth, "You don't have to be a werewolf to be a part of the pack, and even if that wasn't true you still need to be alerted of potential danger especially considering your track record with getting into trouble."

I pretended I didn't hear the first part.

I scoffed, pretending to be offended, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Derek ignored me.

"Also, Scott I need you to get into the morgue somehow and look at the body. You can let me know what you find. "

"Okay I can do that, we need to tell Deaton too, in case he is aware of some other type of creature we don't know about. "

"I'll let him know. " Derek nodded, giving an indication that the pack meeting was over.

Jackson immediately left while Erica, Scott, Isaac, and Boyd continued their conversation they had started earlier. The familiar awkwardness began to settle in and I was ready to make an attempt to escape. Then I felt it. That gaze was locked on me once again. I tried to ignore it but with every passing second it became more obvious. Erica noticed what was happening and looked intrigued. I'm guessing Derek was not being too discreet about the staring thing.

"Well, I'm gonna go," I announced getting up from my spot next to Isaac on the couch.

I patted Scott's shoulder as I passed, "see you later dude."

"See you later" he replied and continued his conversation with Boyd, which was surprising considering he didn't talk all that much.Hurrying out of the loft without making it look like I was excited to get out of there was hard.

_Thank god that's over. Hopefully Derek doesn't invite me to anymore, I still don't understand why I had to go in the first place. He could have just told Scott to warn me about any danger._

I sighed in relief at the familiar sight of my car, my escape route. My dad had to stay late at work, so I had the house all to myself, which was happening a lot lately. I went into autopilot as I drove home. The rattling that my jeep was producing started out as background noise, but as I focused on it the noise became more apparent.   _I should probably stop at the repair shop while I'm out.  There aren't very busy this time of week so I should be in and out._

I pulled in and I could see the workers in the garage rolling their eyes. _Yes, I have made many trips here and they're probably really tired of fixing my car repeatedly but I'm not getting a new one so they'll just have to get over it._ I told the guy at the front what was wrong and he asked me to give him the keys and said he'd take a look.

As I was waiting for the repairmen to diagnose what was wrong with my baby, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Thinking that is was my dad, I ignored it telling myself I would call him back later. The ringing eventually ceased but about a minute later started up again. I pulled it out and read the caller ID.

Scott.

"Hey dude. What's up?" I asked, concerned because I had just with him this must be urgent.

"I'm here at the morgue, and I've never seen this before, man. You need to get down here."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

I tell the repairman that I had an emergency and that I would make an appointment and come back in. He started to explain what is wrong with my jeep, but I wasn't really paying attention.

"Okay," he started hesitantly, "but this needs to be fixed soon. This isn't a huge problem but if you leave it long enough it will become one."

I left my number so that they could remind me to come back in. Then I rushed to the hospital, possibly going over the speed limit. _Sorry dad._

I snuck around the front desk like I have done many times before and discreetly opened the door to find Scott waiting for me. He didn't say anything as I walked towards him.

The body was almost fully intact, a little scratched up and extremely pale, which most dead people usually are. At first I almost didn't notice that anything was wrong, and was about to ask Scott why the hell he called me so freaked out. Then Scott moved the sheet and I understood why he sounded so spooked.

The dead mans body had a huge gaping hole in its chest. From what I could see, the heart was gone. I could also tell that it was ripped out. This wasn't some kind of sick murderer. The thing that attacked the guy had to be strong because it looked as if the heart was just clawed out.

Scott must have heard my unmanly gasp, because he nodded in agreement, "How weird is this?"

"A lot of crazy shit has happened in Beacon Hills, but I've never seen a body look like this before." I agreed.

As I continued to examine the body I heard Scott calling someone, who I presumed was Derek. The call was brief, and me and Scott left, putting everything back in its place. I told Scott to call me if he got a more information. He said he would.

When I got back home all the lights were out, and you could have heard a pin drop. _Dad must be searching aimlessly through the woods for some kind of animal that could cause that kind of damage to someone. He won't find it, unless of course it's hungry. Then it will find him._

My mind kicked into gear. The sooner this thing was taken care of, the sooner my dad would be out of danger. I droped all my things at the entrance of my room, and turnws on my laptop.

'Creature that eats hearts' I quickly type in the Google search bar. 414,000 results. _Great here we go._

By the time I looked back at the time it was 4 in the morning and I heard the sound of my dad's cruiser pulling into the driveway. I turned off my laptop and got into bed, after I changed into something more comfortable and turned off the lights in my room. As I got comfortable I heard my door open and close quietly, and I knew that it was my dad checking on me.

He always makes sure that I'm safe when something is on the loose. Don't get me wrong, he trusts me. He just worries. I took comfort in the fact that my dad is safe at home , and knowing that I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The day dragged on, and finally school was over. Excited to finally get to go home and get some rest, I eagerly ran to my car. For the second day in a row I was interrupted by Scott calling my name.

"Hey Stiles, wait!"

I rolled my eyes, but waited anyway. _Can I ever catch a break?_

"We're meeting at Deaton's to talk about the animal attack. Derek wants you to come again."

"Well tell Derek he can kiss my ass, because I'm not going." I said matter-of-factly.

"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Scott said, obviously offended by my tone.

"Sorry dude, I'm just really tired," I apologized while rubbing my eyes.

"It's okay but I think you should come you know. You might know something that Deaton doesn't."

"Deaton is a lot more experienced than me, Scott. I'm sure you guys will be fine without me."

"Well if you won't do it for Derek, then do it for me."

"Whatever, I'll meet you there."

_This supernatural shit is getting on my nerves._

I head over to wear my jeep is parked and hop in. I settled into the familiar drive to Deaton's. When I got there, cars were already overflowing into the street. _Is Derek throw a fucking party or something, Jesus Christ._ Scoffing, I park my car on the opposite side of the street, and try not to make too grand of an entrance. Of course, as soon as I walk in the door, Derek's eyes are on me. Why does he have to make this so awkward? I tried my best to ignore the weight of his stare, and walked towards Scott, in hopes that it would make me feel less uncomfortable.

He was deep in conversation with Deaton, so I was ignored. Isaac must have noticed how out of place I felt, because he walked over to me and struck up a conversation.

¨Hey, you look like shit.¨ he greeted me.

¨Thanks Isaac you really know how to start a conversation,¨ sarcasm evident in my tone, as I rubbed my tired eyes.

¨Did you sleep at all last night?¨ he asked, with a concerned expression.

¨Like 2 hours, Chemistry is killing me.¨ I lied, hoping that Isaac hadn't learned the little 'I can tell you're lying because you're heart skipped a beat' trick.

If he did see right through my lie he did a good job of hiding it, ¨Well tell Mr. Miller to cut you some slack.¨

¨Yeah, because he totally wouldn't give my ass detention.¨ I rolled my eyes.

¨Yeah, I guess you're right." he chuckled, "Can I ask you a question?" He asked tentatively.

"Sure."

"What's up with you and Derek?"

The question caught me off guard.

_What is up with me and Derek? Him and I have been in this awkward phase for a while now. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I always seem to find trouble. He's probably getting really annoyed with how he constantly has to save me. Derek is a hard guy to read, but I'm pretty sure I'm a constant pest in his life. Which is the reason I do my best to leave him alone._

The silence must have made Isaac think that I was offended by the question because he quickly backtracked.

"You don't have to answer that. That's was rude I'm sorry."

He looked panicked. I could tell he expected me to get mad and yell at him. His dick of a father is the one to blame for his reaction.

"Isaac, it's okay. That wasn't rude, I was just caught off guard."

It was too late. His breathing started to get shallow and I knew that I had caused the poor boy to have a panic attack. His abuse was still far too recent for him to have gotten over, and even with his heightened abilities he was sensitive and he had the right to be.

I very gently took his hand, trying not to frighten him, and placed it on my chest.

"Isaac breathe with me please" I asked, trying not to sound like his demanding father as I exaggerated my chest rising and falling.

He did as I asked. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until eventually his breathing evened out.

"There you go. Feel better? " I asked him.

"Sorry." He replied.

"Isaac it's fine. It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry I scared you. To answer your question, I have no idea." I said softly back.

I hugged the tall werewolf, and I saw over his shoulder that Derek was looking at us. His glare was not present though, it was replaced by something else. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

After the moment ended and we pulled away I looked around and saw that no one else had been paying attention to poor Isaac's heart beat, which was probably a good thing. I'm pretty sure Isaac would have felt extremely embarrassed, even though he didn't need to be.

Deaton entered the room and cleared his throat, and everyone went silent.

He opened his mouth to speak, " I think you'll be pleased to know that I think I have figured out what we are dealing with. I have reasons to believe the suspect is a Lamia."

Fuck yeah. I was right.

"I don't have a lot of details. I don't believe that it is common around the United States. "

"That's because it doesn't usually appear out of Greece." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Deaton turned to look at me with a mixture of shock and interest, "Thank you Stiles. How did you know that?"

I shrugged and looked at the cracked tile floor, "Google."

Deaton continued to stare for a few seconds, then he continued.

"As I said before, I don't know much about the creature, but I do know that it fits the description of our killer. It has claws that can rip out the hearts of humans. That's about all I know. I'm still searching through my bestiary."

He turned back to me, "Stiles do you know more?"

I didn't want to be involved.  If I kept talking I knew it would make me involved.

"Well I'm not really sure if the information is reliable. "

"Any information is helpful, reliable or not." He replied.

I sighed, "There are different interpretations of the Lamia. Some say that it is similar to a succubus, and others think that it is a child eating demon. Either way it appears as a woman, and she eats hearts. Apparently she can take the form of a snake like creature. In that form she looks very similar to when Jackson was a kanima. The key difference is that the creature doesn't have the poisonous venom. What it does have is the power of seduction. They say that she can draw men towards herself in order to rip out their hearts. The rumored way to kill one is to cover it with rosemary and salt and then torch it, which sounds pretty effective if you ask me."

Everyone was silent for a second, and just stared at me. Then Jackson just had to open his mouth.

"Well, since Stilinski knows so much about this I think he should be the bait. "

Scott was the first to refuse the idea, "absolutely not."

"Come on. I doubt the thing is stupid enough to attack a werewolf. " Jackson actually made a good point for once.

"We will find another way. " Scott stood his ground.

No one spoke for a moment, and I broke the awkward silence.

"I think Jackson has a good point."

Scott looked at me like I had grown an extra limb. We were at a standstill, no one knew how else we could make a plan without bait.

I continued to talking to break the silence, and tried to explain myself, "She is probably going to be able to tell that you guys are werewolves and probably just as strong as she is, if not stronger. It just makes sense for me to-"

"No, we are not risking a member of the pack. " Derek interrupted with a firm tone, and I was flabbergasted.

After I recovered, I attempted to argue my point, "But-"

"I said no Stiles." He said with a growl, and his eyes flashed red briefly.

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, whatever you say sourwolf."

He didn't acknowledge that sentence and he glared at Jackson. Jackson instantly backed down, which made sense. _Derek's the alpha, what he says goes._

"We will find it. Then we will kill it. We are not gonna wait for it to find us. " he said in an intimidating voice.

Deaton stepped towards Derek, "I will get you the supplies so we can test out Stiles's theory. You will have them by the weekend. "

Derek nodded towards Deaton, "Okay we will meet here on Saturday, everyone besides Stiles can leave."

I gulped. _He's gonna beat the shit out of me for calling him sourwolf._ Everyone got up and walked towards the door. Isaac smiled at me as he walked by and I returned it. Scott stopped to pat me on the shoulder as if to say 'good luck dude'.

As soon as everyone left the lobby of Deaton's veterinary clinic, Derek walked towards me.

"Hey if this is about the whole sourwolf thing-"

"How did you know all that stuff about the Lamia?" He interrupted.

"I already told you, google. " I answered casually.

"So you stayed up all night researching?"

"Not all night. " I defended.

"Those bags under your eyes tell me a different story. " he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, why do you care?"

He didn't say anything but his jaw clenched. Then I saw his eyes flash red again. I jumped backwards, knowing that I didn't have Scott here to protect me now, and his eyes stopped glowing. His glare disappeared and he said something that was completely not Derek.

"Go home and get some sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

I collapsed onto my bed immediately when I got home. I just wanted to go to sleep but I had an exam in chemistry the next day, which meant I would be spending the night before cramming in all the information I had not listened to in class. With a dramatic sigh I rose from my incredibly comfortable mattress and went downstairs to make a study snack.

When I walked into the kitchen my dad was sitting at the table, glasses rested on the tip of his nose, concentrated on reading the papers that were taking over the eating area. Knowing he wasn't going to move from that spot for the next couple of hours I decided I should make him food too.

"Hey dad, how was work?"

"Busy."

"Sounds fun" I replied sarcastically, as I quickly made two turkey sandwiches.

I took one to him and sat it down beside him after scooting a few papers away.

"Don't forget to eat."

"Thanks son."

"No problem, I'm just gonna go study for the chem test tomorrow. "

He hummed in response and turned his full attention back to his papers so I went back upstairs and sat down at my desk. I opened my chemistry book and stared at the pages hoping if I looked at it long enough I'd understand. I continued doing this for a few hours, until I felt myself becoming groggy. In my half awake state I heard the front door open and shut.

 _Dad must be taking a break too,_ I thought as I looked out my window that faced the woods. I thought what I saw in the tree line was some kind of hallucination caused by my exhaustion. After I rubbed my eyes a few times I determined that it was not a hallucination. There were glowing red eyes staring into my window from the edge of the woods. My heart beat started to quicken when I realized that my dad was still outside.

The creature must have finally noticed because it emerged from the tree line. It's gaze drifted from my window to the front yard where my dad must have been. The moon was giving off enough light for me to recognize the creature as a wolf. It was definitely not a normal wolf.  The sight of it made me freeze, not knowing what I should do to get my dad back inside and safe.

It was huge, twice the size of a normal wolf. It's coat was completely black and its eyes were glowing a deep red color. I watched as it continued to make its way to the front of the house. When it disappeared from sight it broke the trance that I was in and I scrambled as fast as I could to the front door.

I threw open the front door expecting to see my dad covered in blood, but he was completely intact in the drivers seat of his cruiser rummaging through his things. I ran towards him trying to act as casual I could so I wouldn't freak him out.

"Hey dad, what are you doing?" I asked, leaning against his car.

"I forgot my cell phone at the station. I'm going to go get it." He said as he pinched his nose in frustration.

"Okay cool, cool. Take your time."

He raised his eyebrow in suspicion but he knows I'm a strange kid so he ignored the way I was acting. As soon as he pulled out of the driveway I whipped out my cellphone to call Scott, while looking around terrified.

Of course he didn't answer.

"Fuck Fuck Fuck."

I didn't want to make a break for the door, because I knew it might attack me so I creeped slowly towards it. I was about halfway there when I heard the snap of a twig right behind me. My head whipped around to look behind me and I freaked out when I saw a figure standing behind me.

"SHIT SHIT " I screamed as I tried to make it to my jeep.

"STILES." I heard a familiar voice call out, which didn't stop me from running for my life.

I felt a strong grip suddenly on my wrist, which made me yelp in surprise. I attempted to yank my hand away but to no avail. The grip was too strong. I turned to face my captor, and instantly stopped struggling.

"Derek?" I questioned, confused as to why he was at my house, holding my arm, while a huge ass wolf was roaming around my yard. Also why his shirt was missing, which honestly isn't an uncommon occurrence with him. Quite distracting though.

"Why are you screaming like a little girl stiles? I could hear you from a mile away." he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Fist of all don't gender stereotype me, second, do you know any other werewolf buddies who can shift into a huge ass wolf?" I responded, out of breath.

"No," he paused, "Why?"

"I just saw a black wolf who's eyes were glowing red and I'm pretty sure that's your type of company?"

"Stiles you need to calm down. You're gonna have a heart attack."

"Dude, I don't have the capability to fight off a wolf on steroids right now."

"Stiles you're safe, stop worrying."

"How am I safe Derek?" I asked, flailing my arms.

"Because, the wolf isn't gonna hurt you." he responded, annoyed as I struggled in his grasp.

"Well, I'm not taking any chances. I bet I'd be a pretty tasty snack to that thing before its main course of sourwolf. We should leave, like now." I sarcastically replied.

"Stiles think about it. The wolf had black hair, and glowing red eyes. Who does that sound like to you."

"I'm not gonna take the time to play guess who so it can eat me."

He groaned, "It was me. The wolf is me."

I froze in shock for a second, while my brain was coming up with questions faster than I could ask them.

"You didn't put that in the 'I'm sorry that my crazy werewolf uncle bit your best friend' handbook. Why didn't you tell me you guys could do that?" I exclaimed, offended that he'd just keep that kind of information from me.

"I didn't tell you because Scott can't. I was born a werewolf so I have a few more abilities than a bitten wolf like him." He explained slowly, like I was missing a few pieces of my brain.

"Wow, okay thanks for the heads up." sarcasm dripped from my tone.

"I was here to watch for the creature. Not to eat your dad." He said like I was stupid for assuming something like that.

"Why would the Lamia be here? Does it have a preference for skinny teenagers and sheriffs?" I responded, looking down at his hand which was still attached to my wrist

He noticed my awkwardness and quickly pulled away, "No but you're the only member of the pack who's not capable of fighting it off."

I paused, not knowing how to respond.

"I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you." He said, trying to cover his uneasiness.

"Since when did I become a member of your pack?"

He was silent for a few seconds, "I've got to go."

He didn't even give me any time to respond before he was gone.

"Really appreciate the answers to my questions." I yelled out hoping he could still here me.

I heard a growl from the edge of the woods and knew that he could.

All of the sudden all the exhaustion from the previous couple of days hit me like a tidal wave. Constantly worrying about my dads safety and my own made it impossible to sleep. Now I know that Derek was watching my house made me feel safe, a little creeped out also but I was kind of thankful for it. I could finally rest easy knowing that the Lamia wouldn't rip my heart out in my sleep. I stumbled back inside getting more tired with every step, finally I made it to my bed and fell asleep knowing that Derek wouldn't let anything happen.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm giving you quiz monday, so I suggest you reread chapters-" Ms. Jones droned on and my attention was elsewhere.

Deaton had texted me earlier and requested I meet him at the clinic to discuss our plan to kill the creature the following day. I was very surprised Deaton is put so much trust in my judgement. I only mentioned the Lamia on a hunch and he acted like it had been proven.

The bell rang signaling the end of the school day and everyone made their way to the parking lot. I grabbed my things and tried to make it to my jeep as fast as I could.

When I pulled up to Deaton's clinic I spotted Derek's car parked opposite the clinic. _Why is he here?_ I assumed that it would just be me and Deaton.

I walked in and the reception area was empty. Ignoring my instinct to stay there and wait for Deaton, I just continued towards the operating room where he usually hangs out. I hesitated a few steps near the door, because I heard Derek's voice and for some reason felt like I shouldn't be intruding. Their voices were muffled but I could still make out what they were saying.

" I also feel sick when I'm far away. My heart starts racing and I get really hot and sweaty. At night I vomit and get super anxious so I'm not getting a lot of sleep." I heard Derek mutter, his voice wavered slightly.

"What about when you're not far away?" Deaton asked, and he sounded very intrigued.

"I'm calm. Well, not really calm, more like content. All those symptoms from before are gone. That's why I haven't really slept, It's uncomfortable to be away so normally I try to stay close at night." he responded, his voice trailed off near the end, so I moved closer in order to hear him better.

Silence filled the clinic and then Derek's voice turned slightly panicked.

"I have to go."

 _Shit he is gonna see that I'm here. He probably smelled me, fuck._ In order to act natural I just walked in. I put on my best confused face, "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Derek responded a little to quickly.

"Stiles, thanks for coming." Deaton greeted.

Derek glared at me and I ignored his gaze, "Let's figure out how to kill this asshole."

Derek left without another word and me and Deaton didn't speak about the awkwardness of before. I wanted to because I was hella curious about that conversation but he couldn't know I was listening or else that would have complicate things a whole lot more.

Derek seemed really upset before which was a surprise to me. I had never heard Derek sound like that before. He was also talking about being sick and not sleeping due to being far away from something. Was it because he was far away from the pack at night because he's looking after me and my dad? I never asked him to and I didn't want him to make himself sick by doing it. I would have wanted him sleep so he could feel his best when we attempted to kill this monster. Plus Derek had already been through enough and he should have been with the pack and not worrying about my safety.

"Stiles, are you listening?" Deaton broke my trance.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I'm a little out of it. "

"It's fine. So, let's just go over this again. Plan A, search for it under the cover of night. When you find it you cover it in our spice concoction and then torch it. Plan B, get close enough to decapitate it with this. " he said while holding up a very sharp machete.

"Sounds like a plan. "

"Okay great. I'll have Derek pick these up tomorrow morning. Be prepared to attack tomorrow night."

After leaving the clinic, I called Scott to inform him of the plan. He was going to tell everyone else and I was fine with that. I was not in the mood to talk to Jackson. When I pulled up in front of my house I saw Erica on my porch. _Really?_

I sighed before getting out of my Jeep, "Erica, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"How nice to see you Stiles." She responded flipping her long blonde hair.

"What do you need?" I asked while walking towards the front door.

"I need to ask you a question," she paused, " and I need you to not say no."

"Okay?" I said slightly scared.

"How about you sleep at Derek's tonight?"

"Why would I do that exactly?"

She hesitated, "We all would feel safer if you did."

"Do you really care?" I questioned, laughing.

"Yes Stiles, everyone does." she responded with a smile.

"I'm sure Derek wouldn't be too happy with me if I just barged into his apartment uninvited."

"Trust me, he'll be a lot happier than you think."

"I don't think so," I was not very excited to spend a whole night in the same apartment with a guy who wanted to rip my throat out.

"Stiles please." She begged, and I had never seen Erica beg before.

It kinda scared me.

"All right I just have to tell my dad, and pack some stuff. I can be over later tonight." I responded with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned, "Thanks Stiles."

Then she was gone. "God damn wolf powers." I muttered under my breath.

_Why the hell does Derek want me at his loft?  He hates me. He gets annoyed at the sound of my breathing. I don't understand why Erica thinks that this is a good idea but whatever. I said I would do it, I need to pack. Toothbrush. Check. Change of clothes. Check. Laptop. Check. I wonder if sourwolf pays for wifi._

I quickly called my dad on the way over to the loft.

"Stiles?" Dad asked confused, I normally didn't call him while he was at work but I didn't want him to worry.

"Hey dad. I just wanted to tell you that I'm gonna stay at Scott's tonight if that's alright with you."

He sighed, "Yeah just make sure that you're not going to any parties tonight. Stay at Scott's. You know what has been going on at night."

"Yeah dad, I got it. No raves. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night son." he responded and then hung up.

I didn't normally lie to my dad. I hated lying to him. But if he knew that I was really going to a twenty something year old's house who was once a murder suspect he would never let me out of the house again. Once I made it to Derek's loft I started to get nervous. _What if he gets mad that I came here. He pretty much gets mad at anything I do. Whatever, I promised Erica._

I texted her to let her know I was outside. Erica was there as usual. The pack hung out there a lot considering most of them didn't have stable homes and were more comfortable around each other.

I opened the insanely noisy door and the first thing I saw was a very annoyed Derek and a slightly scared Erica. Shit, I knew this would happen. I should of just turned around and went back home, I could of told dad that I changed my mind.

Erica saw me and I knew there was no getting out of this one, "Hey Stiles."

She started walking towards me. I attempted to whisper to her that I was leaving, which was obviously futile considering werewolves can hear people breathing from a mile away.

"Erica I think I should go."

"No-" she attempted to say but Derek interrupted.

"Yeah, I think he should go."

"Derek he isn't going. He's already here. I think a selection of people in this house would sleep a lot better knowing that he is here and safe. Don't you think Derek?" She retorted, which made him look down.  He almsot looked embarrassed.

"Fine, but he's sleeping on the sofa."

"No, me and Boyd are sleeping on the sofa. I was thinking he could just bunk with you."

"No" me and Derek both said at the same time.

"Derek he's sleeping in your bed. You need to be feeling your best for the search tomorrow night so I think that a full nights sleep is in your best interest. "

"Erica, I really don't think that this is necessary." I attempted to retreat through the door.

She noticed what I was trying to do and grabbed my hand, "It's not gonna kill you."

"It might kill him." I was panicking at this point.

"Oh trust me it's going to do the opposite of that.


	5. Chapter 5

"Erica seriously?" I asked for the thousandth time.

"Yes. " she replied not looking up from her phone.

"I don't understand why I can't just sleep on the floor. "

"That's bad for your back Stiles, you should know that. " she responded grinning.

"This is his house. I don't want to make him uncomfortable. Especially when he has the capability to tear my throat out." I tried to reason with her.

"I already told you. He's not going to do anything like that. You will be more safe there than anywhere else. "

"I can take care of myself. "

She chuckled, "Yeah, that's not true. The last person the Lamia killed was a guy that was literally all muscle and he still couldn't fight her off. So I'm pretty sure that a scrawny, sarcastic, twig won't either. "

"Whatever Erica I'm going home." I said, trying to mimic the firm tone Derek uses.

"No you're not." She responded typing away on her phone.

I sighed dramatically and sat down on the couch. As soon as my ass hit the cushion I was kicked off by Erica.

"It's late Stiles you should really go to sleep."

I rolled my eyes at her, but I wasn't going to try and argue anymore. I was getting tired. _Let's get this shit over with._

I walked into Derek's bedroom, which was an appropriate term because a bed was the only thing in the room. It looked as if it was from IKEA, it was so plain and black. Derek's aesthetic is all black though so I shouldn't have been surprised. I tried to ignore the fact that I would be sleeping next to a homicidal guy who wanted to rip my throat out. There wouldn't be all that much time to run away if he were to get pissed. Trying to ignore my overwhelming fear I got under the blanket on the side of the bed that was made. Assuming that the unkempt right side was what Derek preferred. _Maybe if I fall asleep before he comes to bed it won't be that awkward._

My plan couldn't be executed properly because my brain refused to shut up. When I heard the door to his room open softly I tried to slow my breathing to make it seem as if I was asleep. I don't know why I did this because he had to be able to tell.

If he noticed he didn't want to acknowledge it because he just slipped into the bed carefully. While I was freaking out on the inside, I was calm on the exterior. Derek had never been that close to me before without being violent, he was less than a foot away. Instead of being terrified I felt safe, obviously that was going to be my reaction. I mean I was sleeping in the same bed as a werewolf who is all about protecting his pack, and i had just recently found out he considers me part of that pack. Knowing that the Lamia would not be visiting the wolf den I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

When I woke up I was extremely confused. _Where the hell am I?_ I almost flipped when I heard a soft snore come from behind me. I carefully rolled over and came face to face with a sleeping Derek. I almost screamed but I contained myself. Once I recovered from my panic I finally saw how peaceful Derek looked. Whenever he's awake he has a permanent scowl etched into his face that rarely ever leaves. While he's asleep it's gone entirely. His eyebrows are where eyebrows usually are on a persons face intead of laces together like they usually were, his eyelashes lay fanned out and very dark compared to the paleness of his skin. His lips were relaxed and slightly parted. It was nice to see Derek like this, when he wasn't so pissed off at the world. He was actually pretty cute when he was asleep. I had a sudden urge to get closer to him but I ignored it and quickly, but quietly escaped from the bed and retreated to the lounge.

Boyd was still fast asleep on the couch, while Erica was tapping away at her phone.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked me grinning, without looking up.

"Good. Have you talked to Scott? Is he awake yet?" I replied, not assumed in the slightest.

"No, he's your boyfriend why would I ask him?" she answered, making me scoffed.

I took out my phone and quickly texted Scott asking him if he was on his way. He responded almost immediately saying he was outside the building. I looked at the clock on my phone and noticed that it was ten. One would assume that Derek would be an early riser, but I realized that wasn't the case.

"Is Derek awake?" Erica asked almost as if she was reading my mind, and for all I know she could have been.

"No he was asleep when I got up."

"Wow, I guess the Stilinski charm worked." she scoffed.

"What do you mean? Why would I have any effect on that?"

"You know Stiles it pains me to say this but you are really smart, like annoyingly smart. Yet, you're so oblivious. How is that possible?" She asked looking at me, tilting her head like a confused dog.

I rolled my eyes and ignored her, knowing I wouldn't actually get an answer from her unless she wanted to tell me. _She's just toying with me._

The door opened and in came Scott, looking more alert than I've ever seen him this early in the morning on a weekend. This Lamia business must have been affecting everyone more than I thought it was.

"You ready to kill this bitch?" I asked.

"Hell yeah" he said with no hesitation.

At that moment Derek walked in, looking disheveled with his cute bedhead, rubbing his eyes. _What the hell Stiles? Don't call him cute. If he finds out you've ever thought of him as cute he'd rip your throat out._ Then he fucking yawned. My will had never crossed my mind before because I assumed I wouldn't die in my teen years, but in that moment I wished that I had written it because he almost fucking killed me. As soon as he saw all of us looking at him he put his wall back up and his frown and eyebrow furrowing made their reappearances, as he continued his sourwolfy ways.

"I'm going to go pick up the supplies from Deaton." Derek announced, leaving quickly, not waiting for response.

After he was a far enough

away, Erica started laughing uncontrollably which woke up Boyd, "I don't know what the hell you did to him Stiles, but thank you. That's the only thing he's said in the past few days that didn't sound like he wanted to murder everyone in a five mile radius. Did you get laid last night or something?"

Scott looked at me totally confused, "You stayed here last night?"

Erica cut me off before I could respond, "Not only did he sleep HERE, he slept with Derek."

Scott looked like he was gonna pass out.

"Not like that, don't listen to her. Erica and Boyd slept on the couch so I bunked with Derek." I tried to explain myself.

"....... and he didn't try to kill you?" Scott responded, still very confused.

"Um no, actually. He was pretty tame..... ha." I laughed nervously.

That snapped him out of his stupor and he rolled his eyes.

Boyd suddenly spoke up, "Thank you, Stiles. Seriously."

He looked completely sincere and it was freaking me out, " I don't know why everyone keeps thanking me. I didn't even do anything."

Erica looked at Boyd exasperated, "See? Completely clueless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support, it motivates me to continue so I really appreciate it.


	6. Chapter 6

"Stiles, Isaac, and I will search the woods surrounding the gym. It has only been killing around that area so the rest of you keep an eye on the streets and alleyways. Keep a close eye on people going home alone. If you spot it call me immediately. " Derek instructed the pack, as we stood in the parking lot of the gym.

It was covered in crime scene tape and the parking lot was empty of all cars except for my jeep and Derek's camaro. As we split up my nerves started to surface. _What if we don't catch this thing tonight? It will kill again and again and we have no control except to search relentlessly, and even then it is not likely that we will just stumble upon it. What if one of us gets hurt? Or worse?_  I quickly shook those thoughts out of my head and tried to focus on the task at hand. I needed to pay attention.

As we walked to the edge of the woods I glanced over at the school. There was one lone car parked there still and I noticed that a few lights were still on inside. Shit, someone is still inside the school. Derek was a few steps in front of me so I awkwardly ran up next to him. He looked at me with one raised eyebrow and I ignored his judging glare.

"There is a car still at the school. The Lamia could be stalking who ever is inside, maybe we should check it out." I informed him, gesturing to the prius parked at the school.

He studied the spot I pointed at, making a plan in that wolfy head of his.

"Okay we can check that out before we head into the woods." he said, while motioning for Isaac to follow.

We slowly crept up on the parking lot, trying to be stealthy, but with a lanky teenager in tow it's was not very easy to be sneaky. We watched the lit window from behind the parked prius. Watching for any sign of movement, hoping that maybe the Lamia would take the bait.

After a while Derek lost his patience and started to walk away, but at that same moment a movement caught my eye. Derek turned around to yell at me to walk with him, but saw my look of pure terror and followed my gaze.

Over near the corner of the building was a woman, a very attractive woman at that. She looked almost completely normal from the neck up, but as I studied her hands closer they seemed to resemble Jackson's arms when he was the Kanima. The moon reflected off of her skin as she moved closer to the lit window. There must have been some sort of movement going on inside because she suddenly stopped walking as she neared the window. As she got closer to the window she also got closer to us. From far away she could've passed as a normal woman but upon taking a closer look I saw that her eyes were glowing yellow with a black slit in the middle, exactly like a snake.  The realization that she was almost upon us freaked me out, making me take a step back.

Her head snapped in our direction and her eyes met mine.

_Fuck._

Everything after that was a blur. There was a lot of hissing and growling. Derek and Isaac stood there ground in a face off. For some odd reason the Lamia, woman creature, whatever the hell she was, wouldn't stop staring at me.  Her gaze never drifted from me and even though I stood completely still I was flipping the fuck out. I felt myself want to get closer to her but I fought the urge. Derek noticed her looking at me like an appetizer and moved in front of me, blocking her view of me.  Luckily Derek broke the trance I was in enough for me to realize what was happening. All of that was her seduction powers at work that I had read about.

"Derek Hale. Nice to finally meet you." She greeted, sneering.

"I can't say the same. What are you doing in my town?" He responded with a growl.

While he had her occupied I pulled out my phone to text Scott. When I tuned back into the conversation I could tell Derek was getting increasingly pissed the more she talked.

"I was just passing through and thought maybe I'd stop to try the local cuisine. Of course that isn't the only-" she couldn't finish her sentence because all of the sudden Scott was on her, throwing Deaton's concoction of herbs at her.

Then while she was stunned Boyd whipped out a flame thrower and started torching her. After that I stopped looking. There was a lot of screaming and then silence, the whole time I was gripping Derek's arm. If I'm being completely honest I don't know when I had grabbed him. The whole thing was a blur and I didn't know if it was just paranoia but it all seemed way to easy.

I finally opened my eyes to see Derek looking at me with relief evident in his eyes. This fight was over, and the killing would stop for now.  I avoided looking at the body, hoping that not seeing it would help me sleep, but I had a feeling the memory of the screams would keep us all up.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott spoke up.

Everyone nodded, and I assumed they all felt the same way. _That shouldn't have been so easy._ She seemed like she expected us, she wanted us to show up so she could gloat. _Why would she willingly risk her life just to rub it in our faces?  Whatever, I'm not going to dwell on it. It's over. Thank god._

Boyd looked at Derek as if to say I'll take care of this, in reference to the body. Everyone else went their separate ways to their own houses. I didn't know where to go. I didn't want to go home. I told dad that I was staying at Scott's because I assumed we'd be out all night to find the damn Lamia. He would have been out working all night so I would have been alone.  I didn't want that.

At that moment I noticed that I was still clutching Derek's arm. He wasn't paying attention but I let go anyways.  Of course that made him look at me, he saw my face and I saw a glimpse of worry in his eyes. 

"Stiles....... Are you gonna go home?"  He asked, tentatively.

_Now that I think about it I don't even want to go to Scott's, I mean I love Scott don't get me wrong he's my best friend. But the only place that I'd feel completely safe right now is Derek's. I don't know why but for the past few days I've felt at ease in his presence and I don't want to leave that. Ugh, now or never._

"Um, the thing is my dad is going to be out all night, you know looking, searching. I know the Lamia is dead and whatnot but I kinda don't want to be alo-"

He rolled his eyes at my rambling and interrupted me, "you can sleep on the couch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support. Love you guys!


	7. Chapter 7

Since staying the night at Derek's after the Lamia incident, we started talking to each other a lot more. I didn't really notice at first what was happening. He would show up at my house and text me telling me to get in the car. I didn't try to question his motives or anything really. The pack always looked at us weird whenever Derek and I would show up to his loft together, and I didn't see what was so strange about it. Until Lydia came over to talk.

She showed up looking as beautiful as she always does and she wasn't even trying. Ever since Jackson joined the pack and stopped being a psycho lizard man she had been hanging out with the us on some special occasions but she's always kept to herself for the most part. I don't really know why considering Allison was always a member of the pack when she was with Scott, but Lydia just doesn't seem that interested with the supernatural stuff going on in our town. If I could have ignored it I would've because it would have been a lot easier that way but less interesting I guess. The supernatural may be annoying but it keeps you on your toes.

Lydia walked right past me into my house, not caring if I was okay with her coming in which obviously I was. She finished typing on her phone and then finally glanced up at me.

"We need to have a talk." She stated and then walked to me living sitting down on the worn couch looking out of place.

"Why?" I asked, slightly confused but following her.

"You are being so oblivious that it isn't even funny anymore," she paused looking at herself in the reflection of her phone screen and then continued, " it started out pretty hilarious but now it's just frustrating."

I opened my mouth to defend myself but I didn't quite know how, so I opted to not speak.

"You're smart Stiles. We all know it, but when it comes to who is interested and who isn't you are very clueless. " she responded, not a hint of sarcasm or joking in her tone.

"Okay you're gonna have to be more specific. What exactly am I being clueless about?" I asked, making me way over to the couch to sit down.

She rolled her eyes but kept going, "Your Wolfy friend is into you. Wake up. "

I paused thinking real intensely. _There is no way._

 _"_ Scott?" I questioned, super confused.

She scoffed, "absolutely not, way off. The brooding one."

It took me a minute but then everything clicked into place.

"Derek." I stated aloud after a few seconds.

"There we go you finally got it. Gold star for Stiles." She said as she patted me on top of my head like she was praising a dog.

"I'm pretty sure you're seeing things again Lyd. How you been feeling lately?" I asked genuinely concerned.

"I'm not seeing things. It can't just be in my head when everyone is seeing it. He is following you around like a lost puppy."

"We are just hanging out. Two guys can't just hang out without someone saying they're gay these days. " I tried to explain the situation to her but she wasn't having it.

"I'm only saying this to you for your benefit. Let's face Derek is extremely attractive, and that is just an observation. If I were you I'd stop wasting time and confront him. He's into you and you're attracted to him. It's really simple. If you don't go talk to him then I will." She said in an all to serious way.

"I wouldn't do that. He might rip your throat out considering he hates me. He might not be too happy that you're confusing that for affection. "

"Stiles he doesn't hate you. He just has a hard time showing how he feels. He's Derek and he's emotionally constipated and I honestly feel like you could help him come out of his shell and be happier. " she said looking back at her phone when it started to ring.

She flashed me an apologetic look and answered.

"Hello? - yeah I can meet you there - be there in ten." Then she turned back to me, "I'm telling you right now you have to acknowledge this or he's just gonna keep spiraling out of control he already can't sleep anymore and he's taking it out on the whole pack. So you need to go talk to him."

"Okay I will but only because you asked nicely. " I replied, directing sarcasm at her.

"That's my boy." She said, pinching my cheek.

Then she was gone and I was left alone to think about the situation I was stuck in. _Why would Derek be attracted to me? The one he's been threatening for the past couple years to maul. It just doesn't make any sense. He's this dark, brooding, sexy werewolf and I'm me. Everyone is nuts because this is in now way possible._

Either way I told Lydia that I would talk to him and if I put it off then I wouldn't stop thinking about it. So I decided to go over and talk to him right that second. His Camaro was parked across the street so I knew he was there so I walked in without knocking. He probably knew I was coming before I opened the door so there was no reason to announce my arrival. He was staring at an old book menacingly, like the book had hurt his sister or something. Of course that is how Derek always looks. He has a bad case of resting bitch face.

"We apparently need to talk." I announced, which made him look up from his book.

"About?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Lydia came to talk to me earlier. She said that you haven't been sleeping well. Is that true?"

"That's none of her business." He showed no emotion.

"Well, are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine." He responded, looking back down at his book.

"Well the bags under your eyes tell a different story. Weren't you just worried about my lack of sleep? Why is it wrong for me to worry about yours?" I asked innocently, trying not to seem too nervous.

"It's not wrong it's just not needed. Like I said I'm fine."

There was still not even a glimpse of emotion. He's has like three layers of brick built around him.

"Lydia said something else that confuses me a little. I was hoping we could clear some things up. "

"Okay."

I took a deep breath, "Couldtherepossibllybeachancethatyoumightlikemeinamorethanfriendssortofway?"

Silence took over the room. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. He was looking at the floor avoiding my gaze.

He finally looked up from the floor and back to his book, "You should go stiles. "

I was stunned briefly but then I regained the ability to speak, "Um are you sure cuz like its okay if you do I'm not uncomfortable with it or anything cuzimeanisortofkindofthinkyou'rehotandstuff but I can go if you want. "

I tried to tell the truth, not caring if I looked like an idiot because if this was gonna help Derek be happier then I wanted to do it. Derek deserved to be happy. He had been through a lot and I don't understand how he could have feelings for me but I'm more than okay with it.

He paused, "Okay."

"Is that an okay you can go or like an okay I like you or?" I asked hesitantly.

He stayed silent for a few moments and then took a deep breath.

"My wolf side has chosen you."

"........ What does that mean?" I asked curiously.

"Every instinct in my body is telling me that I should be around you, and protect you. It's part of being what I am. The wolf part of me is interested in you I guess is what I'm trying to say. " he says awkwardly while running his fingers through his hair.

His instincts? The wolf part of him? Is this against his will?

"Well I know that I'm not exactly your favorite person so why can't you tell your wolf to fuck off. I don't want you to feel like you have to be around me. " I responded, looking at the floor.

His eyes looked up from the ground and into mine immediately, "No that's not what I'm saying. I never said that the wolf instincts are forcing me. It can't really. It's part of me. "

"So what does that mean? Does the human side of Derek like me too?" I asked, taking a few steps toward him.

He's dropped his book carelessly to the side and stood up so he was directly in front of me, "All of me likes you Stiles. "

 

We were suddenly interrupted by Erica bursting through the door. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note -
> 
> Hey guys, sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I've been really busy with my new job and I'm just now settled in with it. So expect more chapters if I have the motivation to continue. Comments really boost my motivation so keep that in mind ;). Also I kind of tweaked the very end of the last chapter so you might want to check that out before you continue. Thanks so much for reading!

 

"We have a problem." Erica announced while taking in the sight of me and Derek.  

We probably looked really strange all close together without him grabbing me by the throat threateningly.

"What is it?" Derek asked, rolling his eyes looking slightly annoyed and he put some distance between me and him.

"You know the bitch that we thought we killed? Well turns out she's alive." she responded, looking at her reflection in the window.

"The Lamia?" I tilted my head to the side, rather confused.

"Yeah, there was another murder last night and it was the same cause of death." she said flatly.

"Did you check the grave to see if she was missing?" Derek asked.

"No, I wanted to see what you wanted to do first." 

"I'll go." I spoke up.

They both turned their heads toward me and Derek scoffed, "No."

He said it like it was final and then he looked away from me and back to her.

"Derek this is my fault, I should be the one to do the mundane stuff.  It's not that hard, I promise that I won't screw this up."

He looked back at me with an intense look, though I couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion.

"It's not you screwing it up that I'm worried about.  You shouldn't go there alone."

This time it was my turn to scoff, "I know you think I'm this weak scrawny little human and maybe you're right but a dead body can't hurt me, and if she's gone she can't either so I think I can manage honestly."

"Erica and you can go check it out." He responded, exasperated. 

Once again I was treated like a child, but it wasn't unlike him so I brushed it off and me and Erica went to the burial site.  The whole way there I was thinking about the conversation me and Derek had before Erica so barged in. 

_I wonder if he wants to continue that or if he's gonna be pissed at me for messing up.  Probably the latter honestly._

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

I pulled up into the school parking lot, parking closest to the woods behind it.  Erica had of course beat me there and was waiting impatiently outside the edge of the forest.  She was tapping her foot irritably, and I knew that this was all my fault but damn she was angry.

"Who pissed in your wheaties?" I asked nonconfrontationally.

"You were finally gonna get Derek to stop pouting and I couldn't hear through the damn concrete walls and now he's acting like a pissed off little child."  she responded, rolling her eyes.

"I'll try to fix all of this later with him but I doubt he is going to want to talk to me." I said walking past her.

"Why do you say that?" She asked tilting her head in confusion, like a dog which made me kind of chuckle for the first time today.

"This whole ordeal is obviously my fault because I was so sure that I knew the way to kill.  It turns out that this recent death is because of my ignorance so if I was him I'd be pissed at me too." 

She laughed at my explanation, "Stiles you were the least confident in yourself, I'd say that we went in without proper planning or something was missing that we didn't know about.  Hell, even Deaton put all his faith in you so I'm sure your theory wasn't far off.  Derek isn't blaming this on you, nobody is except yourself."

I didn't respond, instead we continued walking in silence and came upon the grave.  It was shallow about 3 feet deep, I guess Scott was in a hurry when he dug it.  I looked to the bottom of the grave and just as I suspected the body was gone.  Sighing, I turned to Erica for confirmation.  She was standing there concentrating on something, her eyes had that far away look.  

"Someone else was here." She announced after a few seconds.

"Do they smell familiar?" I asked, pretty much already knowing the answer. 

"No, completely new to me." She responded without a snarky comment, which is rare. 

She was obviously really concerned because she called Derek and he was immediately on his way. 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Derek confirmed that the scent was entirely new to him too.  Eventually the whole pack showed up and was standing there with a confused look on their faces. 

"So what exactly does this mean?" I asked.

"It means that somebody either found the grave or found the body and either way that's bad, but who would do that and it not be reported to the police?"  Scott said, breaking the tension.

There was silence and then Boyd spoke up, "Well whatever happened doesn't really matter we just need to find her before she has the chance to kill anyone else."

Everyone decided on a time to meet later at Deaton's and with that they left.  Now it was just me and Derek.  

"I'm really sorry." 

He looked up from looking at the empty hole and his intense gaze was planted on me.

"What do you mean?  Why are you sorry?" He asked rather confused.

"I must've missed something in my research and I'm the reason that guy was killed last night, so I'm sorry that everyone has to go through all this shit again." I replied, looking down to avoid his eyes.

It took him a few seconds to respond but they felt like hours.

"This is not your fault.  We went in not knowing a lot about this creature and it turns out that our first attempt didn't work, we will keep trying." 

"That guy who died wouldn't appreciate my lack of knowledge." sarcasm was evident in my tone.

He got closer to me and I felt  his finger lifting my chin so his eyes could meet mine.

"He wouldn't blame you, Stiles.  The Lamia ripped his heart out, not you." 

Nothing was said for a few moments, as we continued to stare and each other.  Normally I would have found this to be rather awkward but honestly I wasn't really focused on how others would see this.  All I could see was the flecks of yellow in his green eyes and the unusual softness of them in that moment.  I was just about to lean in when he pulled away.   
  
"We better get going, the meeting is soon." he broke our eye contact and started walking towards the school.

_Dammit_  

He didn't go too far ahead me and watched as I got in my jeep.  He drove behind me the whole way to Deaton's and followed me inside like he was the secret service or something.  When we got to the back room labeled as "Employees Only" we walked right in and were met by the whole pack.  Deaton was talking on the phone with someone in a language that I recognized as Greek but understood none of.  After a few more minutes of discussion he said his goodbyes and hung up.

"I've just spoken to another emissary, he deals with the Lamia quiet often and he said what we did should have taken care of the problem.  So Stiles research was correct.  I am just not sure where we made our mistake." He announced glancing at everyone in the room.

Derek nodded, "The strange smell could have been someon who took the body."

"I assumed the same." Deaton agreed.  

"I'm really confused, so she is dead?" I asked.

"Maybe, or maybe not." Deaton sighed.

"Well either way this thing has got to have a friend so lets go find them." Jackson said.

"It won't be that simple Jackson.  We can't rush into this, that's how we screwed up last time." Scott added.  

Everyone agreed that there should be teams of two watching over the town every night in shifts until we could figure out who this friend was.  Of course I wasn't a part of any of these teams.

"Why can't I help?" I asked, in a rather childish voice.

"Because you are affected by it's power, you would be more of a liability." Derek said with no emotion what so ever.

"Wow thanks buddy." I said in the same tone and started to walk out.  

Scott chased after me.  

"He's just trying to make sure nothing happens to you Stiles.  I will feel better knowing that you're at home tonight."

"I know that I don't have all your wolfy powers but that doesn't mean I can't help.  I'm just going to be laying awake worrying about all of you so what's the point?" I asked, just kind of fed up with this whole situation.

"Stiles, she could easily get control of you.  If that happened I don't know what we would do.  It's better this way, I'm sorry." he replied, patting my back and then walking away.

I was almost to my jeep when I heard my name being called.  I turned around and there was Derek.

"What?" I asked not giving a shit if I sounded rude.

"Please go home and don't try to help tonight."  

"Whatever you say alpha." I responded sarcasm pouring out of my mouth and I wasn't even trying to hold it back. 

Then I slammed the car door shut, not wanting to hear his response.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated. New chapter should be up soon. I update sooner on Wattpad so search me up there : amazingavery


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